18 Answers
18

You can if you first install the Wine compatibility layer from the Software Center, you can install Windows applications in Ubuntu. Be warned though that not all applications work perfectly or without glitches. Some applications are even unusable, while others work perfectly (see the Wine Application Database for a good idea of how well various programs work).

Once Wine is installed, you can simply double click an .exe or .msi file to run it. If this doesn't work for some reason, right-click the file and select "Open With Wine Windows Program Loader". Of course, only run executables from sources you trust to avoid Windows malware.

Short answer

.exe files are not binary-compatible with Ubuntu. There are, however, compatibility layers for Linux, such as Wine, that are capable of running .exe.

Detailed answer and solutions

The underlying problem:

Ubuntu is a completely different system than MS Windows. Not only it looks differently, but it also uses different mechanisms for its core functions.

The problem with .exe files is that they are specific to Windows. No other system is capable of running them, because their contents are designed to work on a Microsoft's system. Linux uses different standards, different concepts, and therefore Ubuntu applications need to be adapted to them to work correctly.

If you have just migrated from Windows and are doing your baby steps with Ubuntu, you may be indeed surprised that .exe files fail to run. There may be different symptoms, either an error message may appear, or there may be no effect at all when double-clicking an .exe. This all happens, because Ubuntu has no idea what should it do to run that file. Ubuntu is not knowledgeable about how MS Windows works "behind the curtain", and therefore it can't execute the code that's within them. In technical jargon, one says that Windows and Linux executables are not binary-compatible.

Looking for alternatives

The first thing you should do is to realise that most likely you do not want to run that .exe file. Most Windows applications you are used to have their Ubuntu alternatives in Ubuntu Software Center.

Therefore the very first step when you try to run an .exe file is to check whether there is a Ubuntu version of the same application (like Firefox - it has both a Windows and Ubuntu edition), or a close alternative, which is not the same app, but does 99% the same stuff. For example, if you want to compose a document, instead of MS Office you will want to use LibreOffice.

How can I find an alternative?

Here are some tips.

Search Ubuntu Software Center.

Launch the Ubuntu Software Center, type in the search box what kind of application you are looking for. For example, typing in "photoshop" finds The GIMP, which is a great advanced image editing tool, and is a great substitute for Adobe Photoshop.

Many Windows applications are also available for Ubuntu, and have their identical version in Ubuntu Software Center, which is the preferred way of installing software in Ubuntu.

Okay, but not all applications have alternatives. There are a number of cases where you will want to run the .exe program anyway. Examples include:

You are trying to run an application of which alternative makes no sense. In case of most video games you will want to run them and not an alternative.

You may want to run the original application instead of an alternative, because the alternative is not good enough. For example, many people consider Photoshop to be a much better editor than The GIMP.

This is a very Windows-specific program, that makes little sense on Linux.

Luckily, you can get .exe files to run on Ubuntu.

Running .exe files on Ubuntu with WINE

What is Wine? Well, technically it's a compatibility layer. What it means is that it provides an environment similar to Windows to any .exe application you try to run. Therefore, with WINE .exe files will run on Ubuntu.

Proceed to launching your .exe file! Double-click it, and with a bit of luck everything will seem like on Windows. Voilà!

WARNING: Not all applications will behave correctly when run with WINE. WINE is by no means perfect, and because it pretends to be a Windows environment instead of actually being a real one, some applications may malfunction. Common problems may include incorrectly displayed fields, fullscreen issues with video games, copy-protection problems. Some of them can be solved with litte hassle, make sure to check the WINE application database and use google to find hints in case your .exe does not work correctly.

Running Windows applications on Ubuntu with PlayOnLinux

There is another tool you may like which aids you in running Windows applications.

It's called PlayOnLinux (website) and it supports quite a wide range of software (browse).

What it does is it runs a specific version of Wine which is known to work best with the application you are willing to run. It also installs additional paths to provide maximum compatibility with Ubuntu. But you don't need to know about that; everything is done automatically.

Because of that, PlayOnLinux tends to provide the best results in case of running a widely known piece of software, including many video games.

Installing PlayOnLinux:

Find it in Ubuntu Software Center, or

Run sudo apt-get install playonlinux

Using PlayOnLinux:

Instead of double-clicking the .exe (which launches it with WINE), run PlayOnLinux application. Select "Install" button on the toolbar, and choose what application you wish to install. PlayOnLinux will guide you through the installation process (of course you will need installation media).

Once it's done, your installed application will be displayed in PlayOnLinux main window. Double click to launch it!

Commercial solutions

If you are not satisfied with WINE, there are some commercial softwares that runs Windows applications on Linux. One of the most well-known is CrossOver. In some cases it has significantly better results, yet it is not available for free.

Wine is not a perfect answer, as you will probably many compatibility problems. You might consider first checking up on your application at WineHQ.org. Platinum is the best level, then Gold, Silver, Bronze, and finally Garbage.

If you want to run games, you can try special versions of Wine like PlayOnLinux (free) or CrossOver (payed). Otherwise, common applications should work well enough with a little configuration.

First of all an .EXE file is a Windows Executable file. In Linux and other *nix based systems we do not use .EXE as file extension for program executables. Rather we set the permission for the program to be executable by using chmod command.

Secondly your question is too broad. Which '.EXE file' by which I assume you are trying to run a Windows Application are you trying to run? There a program called WINE which has ability to run Windows Programs to a various levels of success.

However you are strongly suggested to use a native alternative app, because it will perform better and better integrate with the desktop.

You should be aware that Ubuntu is a totally different OS to Windows. The file structures are incompatible. So .exe files are designed for Windows, not Linux. Therefore they won't work.

Having said that, there are some .exe files that work well in Linux (Ubuntu) through a program called "WINE". The latest stable version should be in the software centre.

My strongest recommendation though - before installing WINE - is to go to the developers website and familiarise yourself with what it can and can't do, and what windows programs are known to work with it.

Finally, there are 1000's of apps that are designed for linux that do much the same things that windows apps do. Many are cross-platform, like VLC, Firefox to name a couple.

You have all been surprisingly supportive (maybe I will just give it a chance, haha). But where do I find this "software center"? I went to Applications in the upper left hand corner, and all that is available to me is Accessories, Games, Graphics, Internet, Office, and Sound and Video. What do?
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AdrianFeb 22 '13 at 9:13

I'm going to sound like an idiot, but to be honest, I'm not sure. The Boot CD I was given by my roommate was just a burnt one.. Is there a way I can find out? Thank you again.
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AdrianFeb 22 '13 at 9:18

When you boot into it, wait for it to load then go into Applications/Accessories/Terminal. You should see a command-like window pop up. Cut and paste the following and hit enter, then post the result.. cat /etc/lsb-release
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BaldrickFeb 22 '13 at 9:22

Okay, this may take a minute. (I'm on my windows laptop right now while my new desktop is the PC I'm getting help for) DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu DISTRIB_RELEASE=8.04 DISTRIB_CODENAME=hardy DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS" Thats everything it says...
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AdrianFeb 22 '13 at 9:25

We had lots of problems using VitualBox on our Ubuntu systems @ school.
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Wayne WernerAug 5 '10 at 13:06

Right, some times some work for some - and others for others. I've never been able to get VMWare to work but I have had some success with QEMU/KVM. "Individual results may vary."
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aggitanAug 5 '10 at 14:55

The Wine PPA indicated above is helpful, however I will note that you don't have to use beta packages if you're using the PPA. The wine1.5 package will give you the latest beta package, however the wine1.4 package will keep you at the stable Wine 1.4 release and not expose you to regressions. You can also just install the wine package for the latest stable version.

Also, if you want to get updates from the Wine developers so that more and more Windows software is supported, go to System->Software Sources and go to the other Software tab. Click the Add button and copy+paste this into it: ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa

Once wine is installed, you can run a Windows executable by right clicking it and clicking 'open with wine Windows program loader' or using the terminal as explained above.

You should check here to see if/how the program can be run in wine. Lots of programs will not work perfectly or will need extra configuration to run. A program called winetricks (see http://wiki.winehq.org/winetricks) may make things a bit easier.

Always try to use native software or free alternatives if possible. You can search for applications in Ubuntu Software Centre - programs from here will work much better and will need little configuration. You can also look on this website: http://www.osalt.com/ for free software alternatives to proprietary products.

As others have said, Wine is usually the best option, but in some cases you can see better performance using Mono. However, for the program to run under Mono, the program must be a .NET application, and even that isn't a guarantee that the program will run without some hand holding.

To recap, Wine is a safe bet, but Mono is installed by default in Ubuntu and can handle many simple .EXE files that are .NET applications.

Maybe a proper error message should tell you that .exe files are specifically create to run in a Windows environment. There are plenty exciting ways to handle this situation but they all need a little time and effort to get informed and understand. If you anyways plan to use Windows which is perfectly fine because you are free to chose then it might be advisable to just wait for your Windows installation and then you can run your .exe files.

In case you decide differently and want to learn more about Ubuntu and how to run executable files you should know that there are

You can dual boot both Windows and Ubuntu so you can get to know Ubuntu before deciding to leave Windows completely. At home I have been Windows free since 2000. I still use it at work however as the IT department tells me I have to.
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Warren HillFeb 22 '13 at 9:21